Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
What are you waiting for?!
Is the M5 battery an odd, large, rectangular size like my 1999 Audi A8 had? (Meaning, different than a typical STi's battery.)
Grinders E39 ///M5
- Thread starter Grinder34
- Start date
What are you waiting for?!
Is the M5 battery an odd, large, rectangular size like my 1999 Audi A8 had? (Meaning, different than a typical STi's battery.)
Grinder34
Track Monkey
I'm waiting for a few more data points. Want to see what it does tomorrow morning after I reset the charger. Plus, i guess, time and motivation to actually get it done.
Yes. It's the size of two STI batteries side-by-side. The thing is comical.
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Grinder34
Track Monkey
Battery was DEAD. So I actually managed to jump it using TWO of those LiIon jump starters--one in the trunk on the battery, and the other on the terminals under the hood. It BARELY turned over, but apparently 1600 CCA was enough when 1000 CCA wasn't.
But I took it to Autozone, where I still had the reciept, they had to run their tests. I think their meter said it was at something like 45 CCA. So they ended up giving me another AND resetting my battery warranty due to a stroke of luck. Now I keep the car on a float charger pretty much all the time and haven't had any issues.
I'm almost never driving my car anymore--either take the wife's or bike. But around town it's really not great, even when driving like a grandma, just due to allllll the stop lights and stop signs. On the highway, I think i was mid 20s on the way to Texas at 75 mph. Not bad!
My next project is the thermostat. It definitely needs to be replaced (stuck open), which has only helped me not want to drive it during the winter. Getting to the thermostats is kind of a PITA, made easier by removing the giant plenum under the hood. Removing that is also a PITA with a million dissimilar screws--i've yet to have it off myself, so we'll see! But once you have the plenum off I think I'll probably end up going crazy with replacing all the other 20 year old tubes that are undoubtedly deteriorated down there.
I also think i'll do valve cover gaskets, as I think thats at least one source of my slowww oil leak. When I looked through the old service records they'd been replaced like 5 times, and when I did spark plugs a few years back (man I should do those again too
) there was lots of oil in some of the wells.Picture of the intake plenum:
Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Ah, I see now that your car has a 4.9L V8, with 400 CHP and 369 CTQ.
My A8 has a 4.2L V8, with 300 CHP and 295 CTQ.
Oh, wow! Your car has a 18.5 gallon tank, while mine has a 23.7 gallon tank. You have a small tank for such a heavy car!
I also get mid 20's MPG on the highway, and I'm assuming your gearing is better suited than mine since you have a 6 speed? What's your RPM at 70 MPH? Mine is exactly 2,000 RPM in 5th gear. Your car also weighs ~220 lb more than mine, but I'm cheating since I have the aluminum space frame.
What car does your wife have? Post a picture!
I'll get some pictures soon. I currently have the plastics removed from the engine bay and everything is pretty much exposed at the moment. My car is running great as it is right now, so I won't be replacing anything unless needed. Everything is harmonious at 239,6XX miles, so my job is cruise a fuck ton of miles! :lol:
My A8 has a 4.2L V8, with 300 CHP and 295 CTQ.
Oh, wow! Your car has a 18.5 gallon tank, while mine has a 23.7 gallon tank. You have a small tank for such a heavy car!
I also get mid 20's MPG on the highway, and I'm assuming your gearing is better suited than mine since you have a 6 speed? What's your RPM at 70 MPH? Mine is exactly 2,000 RPM in 5th gear. Your car also weighs ~220 lb more than mine, but I'm cheating since I have the aluminum space frame.
What car does your wife have? Post a picture!
I'll get some pictures soon. I currently have the plastics removed from the engine bay and everything is pretty much exposed at the moment. My car is running great as it is right now, so I won't be replacing anything unless needed. Everything is harmonious at 239,6XX miles, so my job is cruise a fuck ton of miles! :lol:
Grinder34
Track Monkey
I'm not sure I have any pictures of the wife's car! It's a 2016 A4 Allroad...Premium? Platinum? Whatever, we bought used in Dallas, with most of the upgrades. Here's what it looks like:
Surprisingly with the under-hood picture I posted, none of that is frivolous plastic. From the car's perspective.... back left/right is housing dual cabin filters. Front left/right is dual intakes. Center is the intake plenum with velocity stacks. Picture with the top removed:
As for cruising RPM, I'll have to get back to you. Not sure when the next time I'll have it on the freeway is!
Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
Do the newer Allroad vehicles also have air suspension like the early 2000's models? The air suspension on the earlier models were horrendous. The D3 chassis of the A8 also received air suspension in 2004 and on alongside with the VW Phaeton, and they were such a weak point of those cars.
What engine does your wife's car have? That looks pretty slick!
Has the car been reliable?
Why do both of you have German cars?
What engine does your wife's car have? That looks pretty slick!
Has the car been reliable?
Why do both of you have German cars?
Alin
Diehard Car Enthusiast!
This is pretty sick, and how they should've come from the factory:
bringatrailer.com
Which do you prefer more, the 5 series' body style or the 7 series' body style?
S62-Powered 2001 BMW 740i 6-Speed
Bid for the chance to own a S62-Powered 2001 BMW 740i 6-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #38,745.
bringatrailer.com
Which do you prefer more, the 5 series' body style or the 7 series' body style?
Grinder34
Track Monkey
I wouldnt turn either down, but i'm definitely partial to the 5-series. Especially with M-specific bodywork. There may be a few subtle/tasteful 7-series bodykits out there that match the styling, but I'll just stick with the one I've already got!This is pretty sick, and how they should've come from the factory:
S62-Powered 2001 BMW 740i 6-Speed
Bid for the chance to own a S62-Powered 2001 BMW 740i 6-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #38,745.
Which do you prefer more, the 5 series' body style or the 7 series' body style?
I finally got those tires mounted 4.5 months later! The grip is terrible for acceleration...but they're 245 vs 275 in the rear and winter vs all-season, so i guess that's to be expected.
Grinder34
Track Monkey
Well there was pretty.
At least these aren't dry-rotted and aren't summer compounds, so even dry-weather driving should be much safer!
Well, there was pretty much 0 snow last season, so who knows what'll happen.
At least these aren't dry-rotted and aren't summer compounds, so even dry-weather driving should be much safer!
Grinder34
Track Monkey
To continue my journey, i finally got some more maintenance items ticked off my list:
I guess that was all pretty standard, except it was the first time I'd had the plenum off the top of the motor. There are literally something like 60 screws/bolts/nuts to take off the top half, then the velocity stacks, then the bottom half. I ended up using my electric drill and even with that taking it off takes 30 min, and putting it on at least as long. But now most of the engine bay is wiped of random oil/dirt/grime, so I'll HOPEFULLY be able to identify leaks in the future.
I was also thinking of using an oil that has a UV-reactive dye, so you can shine a UV flashlight at your engine and really see what's up. Do any of you guys have experience with such?
- I replaced the thermostat, which fails open. Good for summer, bad for winter. But it immediately fixed my constant check engine light (for BMW its SES - Service Engine Soon) due to "Improbable Coolant Temp". All in all, not as bad as a lot of the write-ups said. Took a bit of maneuvering to get it back in, but it appears to have worked on the first try. Lots of stories of ripped O-rings, but I think I'm good! I replaced 2x temp sensors while i was there.
- 8x spark plugs. Uneventful and easy. I even bought an inch-lbs socket to do it too! Too bad i lost my 3/8-to-1/4 adapter. So hopefully I'm good.
- new crush washers to replace some on the VANOS oil lines that looked like they were weeping. Easy. Only had to remove the intake for that one.
- I replaced the passenger side valve cover gaskets because they looked like they were leaking. Last time i replaced spark plugs i noted some oil in there. Plus there was a fair bit of oil on the outside. I've had an oil consumption issue for a while, so I'm hoping this was the cause.
- I decided NOT to replace the driver side. No real evidence of oil, and the forums say its about 100x worse than the passenger side.
- At I also replaced the oil cap, because that was potentially leaking as well.
- I added a little overflow reservoir for the power steering cap. I used a cheapo amazon/china-special brake fluid reservoir for a motorcycle, and a few feet of vacuum hose, and an elbow from NAPA.
- A new windshield washer cap. Mine was breaking apart from just touching it.
I guess that was all pretty standard, except it was the first time I'd had the plenum off the top of the motor. There are literally something like 60 screws/bolts/nuts to take off the top half, then the velocity stacks, then the bottom half. I ended up using my electric drill and even with that taking it off takes 30 min, and putting it on at least as long. But now most of the engine bay is wiped of random oil/dirt/grime, so I'll HOPEFULLY be able to identify leaks in the future.
I was also thinking of using an oil that has a UV-reactive dye, so you can shine a UV flashlight at your engine and really see what's up. Do any of you guys have experience with such?
LIQUI MOLY Molygen: A Tool For Everyone's Garage
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Grinder34
Track Monkey
I know I really want to get that UV stuff. I have about 20 quarts of oil already taking up a ton of limited space already though. And then I'm gonna wanna get a badass UV flashlight, not the pansy-ass one they'll send. Okay okay okay I'll do it.
Also, I dont know that I have any pictures of the car from the past year+. It's barely been driven in a year. Even in the year before that, it was mostly stationary. I'm trying to get my neighbor with an E46 M3 to do an autox, so maybe it'll get to stretch its legs then!
